“For Cecil Taylor” was recently released on April. Remarkable and interesting album was recorded by “New Thing Unit” – it’s Ernesto Rodrigues (viola), Paulo Alexandre Jorge (tenor saxophone), Eduardo Chagas (trombone), Miguel Mira (cello), Manuel Guimarães (piano) and Pedro Santo (drums). All the compositions of this album are dedicated for great avant-garde jazz legend Cecil Taylor, which died on April 5, 2018. Cecil Taylor was a great and marvelous pianist and improviser. Through the years of his musical activity, he had created unique and interesting playing style and manner. All his improvisations were based onexpressive, vivacious and vibrant sound, were full of stunning musical experiments, strange noises, experimental ways of playing, turbulent and powerful culminations, expressive melodies and dynamic stylistic changes. All these elements were masterfully combined together in his improvisations. The music of Cecil Taylor was totally based on basic styles of avant-garde jazz. “New Thing Unit” music is full of various stylistic waves, has evocative and expressive sound, rich and vivacious musical language. Each musician is creative and outstanding improviser. Unique playing style, original and inventive musical decisions, specific and own playing techniques, experimental ways of playing and search of new timbres and sounds. The musicians are trying to create an extraordinary, unique and expressive sound. Their playing manner is especially expressive, bright and modern – it also has vibrant, interesting, contrasting and vivacious sound. The synthesis of avant-garde jazz and bebop, hard-bop, post-bop and other contemporary modern jazz intonations are gently combined together. The intonations of contemporary academical music, elements of various countries ethnic music, experimental music and academic avant-garde also are heard in the music of these musicians.
The music of this album has interesting and original sound. It’s based on collective improvisations, free structure, interesting musical experiments by each musician and striking and evocative musical language. All these elements help musicians to create interesting, vivacious, vivid and expressive sound. Each musician is improvising individually – the improvisations have its own character, are based on indepdndent musical decisions and specific playing manners. Saxophone improvisations by Paulo Alexandre Jorge have effective, expressive and vibrant sound. It’s full of dynamic and sudden stylistic changes and turns – improviser uses especially huge variety of traditional playing techniques and experimental ways of playing. The extraction of unusual and strange timbres is the main priority of the saxophonist. He’s making an effort to search and extract original and weird sounds and new ways of playing. His improvisations are expressive, vivid, vivacious and striking, mostly are based on abstract musical pattern and free form. Spontaneous and vibrant solos, sharp harmony, colorful timbres and sounds, expressive and vivacious melodic elements, rigorous and sharp blow outs and many other elements make an effort to whole sound of the album. Trombone improvisations by Eduardo Chagas are deep, nright and solid. Repetitive and monotonic bass line is highly contrasting with live, active, rapid and dynamic saxophone. Deep, soft and monotonic trombone tones are blended together with bright, expressive and aggressive solos, original and interesting ways of playing and unusual sounds. Manuel Guimarães piano improvisations are especially energetic, striking and touching. It’s full of passionate and virtuosic passages, colorful and rapid arpeggios, sharp and dissonance harmony, separate chords, which are based on unusual tones combinations, extended variety of playing techniques, expressions and other elements of musical language. Pianist playing is especially evocative and interesting – it’s also full of vibrant, sudden and colorful waves, turns, surprises and changes. Viola (Ernesto Rodrigues) and cello (Miguel Mira) improvisations bring the intonations academic avant-garde and experimental music. Though, the basics of their improvisations are the main elements of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation, both musicians are using many modern and experimental playing techniques of academic avant-garde and experimental music. That makes an effort to the marvelous and organic synthesis between avant-garde jazz, free improvisation and experimental music. Vibrant and effective solos, expressive and vivacious melodies, virtuosic passages, soft and subtle pizzicato, glissando and many other similar playing techniques are combined together with experimental and specific ways of playing. Pedro Santo drums section is colorful and dynamic. Various rhythms of avant-garde and modern jazz styles are connected together with spontaneous, turbulent and free solos, colorful percussion timbres, extended playing techniques, huge range of expressions, dynamics and other elements of musical language. All musicians are improvising expressively and passionately- their music has remarkable and interesting sound.
Avant Scena 